Lettuces are ideal plants to save seeds from as they do not cross pollinate, which means the seeds will produce identical plants to the parent plant. Below is a step by step guide on how to collect lettuce seeds.
1. Selecting and labelling lettuces
At the end of a season most gardeners will have a number of lettuces going to seed from which they can harvest seeds from. But to be sure you label your seeds accurately it is better if you chose your healthiest lettuce plants mid season and label them as the plants you are going to collect seeds from.
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2. Staking lettuces
When lettuces go to seed they get taller, skinner and heavier at the top as the seed heads fill out. This makes the plant prone to falling over or the stem breaking, especially during windy weather. To prevent this it is best if you stake and tie the plants as they mature.
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4. Bag drying the seed heads
To make sure my seeds are fully dried I temporary place harvested seed heads in a paper bag or folded newspaper sheet bag which I then hang up in a dry place for another couple of weeks before separating out the seeds.
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5. Separating the seeds from the seed heads
A. stripping and crushing the plant
Place the dried stalks with their seed heads in a large mixing bowl. I have found the pressed stainless steel mixing bowls to be the best as they have a wide opening and are very light.
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b. Winnowing the seed
Swirl the bowl in a circular motion. Because the seeds are heavier than the small plant pieces the seeds will drop to the bottom while the plant pieces will move to the top. They will also settle into a compact central cluster.
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Article source: Urban Food Garden
Image source: Coffee to Compost